Guys with Kids review: Daddy day care

Shanee Edwards is a screenwriter who earned her master's degree at UCLA Film School. She recently won the Next MacGyver television writing competition to create a TV show about a female engineer. Her TV pilot, Ada and the Machine, is cur...

Sons before buns

Let’s face it -- with more and more women as the primary breadwinners, men are spending more time raising their kids these days. So how do three former “playas” handle diapers and princess parties? Let’s just say they get by with a little help from their friends.

Married couple Gary and Marny (Anthony Anderson and Tempest Bledsoe) have four little tykes that orbit through their apartment like meteors searching for any planet to crash land on. When the couple finally gets some time alone, they realize that alone is simply an illusion and won't be a reality for years to come. Good thing they love each other.

Chris (Jesse Bradford) is divorced from Sheila (Erinn Hayes), an ultra-controlling, condescending ball-buster with whom he shares custody of their babe. When Sheila reveals she has a hot date the same night Chris does, Chris resolves to hire a babysitter for the tot against Sheila’s strict orders. But when the babysitter cancels on him, his friends Nick and Gary pick up the slack -- or at least do their best with some controlled chaos.

Nick (Zach Cregger) is married to hopeless romantic Emily (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) who has an obsession with the movie Titanic, but it’s unclear if it’s Leo or the iceberg she longs for. It’s lovely to see Jamie-Lynn Sigler back on TV, trying her hand at comedy.

Stinky diapers always walk the line between funny and gross-out funny, and there’s no shortage of both on this show where doing a "smell test" involves checking ones breath and a baby's diaper.

But the comedy here works because most men are really just kids at heart, and they solve problems like kids with a practicality that can be startling or charming.

Perhaps a sign of the times, Guys with Kids is the classic role-reversal comedy that’s been popular since Ricky tried to take care of Little Ricky without Lucy’s help. It’s fun to watch this 21st century take that includes BabyBjorns, flat-screen TVs and Wiis. If you have kids, you'll find that this new show hits a fun and clever sweet spot.